In his historical novel Chesapeake, James Michener tells the story of multiple generations living near a
marsh. One character, Chris Pflaum, is introduced as a restless
13-year-old sitting in class waiting for summer break. But when the
teacher reads a poem by Sidney Lanier, the boy's heart is stirred.
As the marsh-hen secretly builds on the watery sod,
Behold I will build me a nest on the greatness of God:
I will fly in the greatness of God as the marsh-hen flies
In the freedom that fills all the space 'twixt the marsh and the skies.
When Chris grew up, this poem motivated him to work tirelessly to preserve the precious wetlands and the wildlife he loved.
The
poem's words stir the heart because they use nature as a springboard of
praise to the Creator. But, unfortunately, our living planet can be
neglected and exploited. God's mandate to Adam has been passed on to
all believers. "The Lord God . . . put him in the garden of Eden to
tend and keep it" (Gen. 2:15). The words tend and keep mean "to cultivate as servants."
We are to care for and guard God's creation as responsible stewards. — Dennis Fisher
The natural world that God has made Must not be used at whim; We serve as stewards of His earth, Responsible to Him. —D. De Haan
To mistreat God's creation is to offend the Creator.
In his book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman warns us of the danger of a world of information overload.
He reminds us of a chilling futuristic vision—Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, which describes a world thoroughly flooded with information. But that
data is manipulated so that none of it has any significance.
A
glance at the Internet or a magazine rack hints that we are living in
just such a culture. We're drowning in a sea of information often
marketed by the unscrupulous. We need discernment to choose wisely whom
we will listen to.
In John 6, Jesus delivered His "I am the bread
of life" message (v.35). It was a sermon so controversial that, at its
conclusion, many of His followers went away and stopped following Him
(v.66). They chose to stop listening to the voice of Christ. When Jesus
challenged His disciples as to whether they would also walk away, Peter
wisely responded, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life" (v.68).
In a world swamped with confusing and
contradictory information, we can, like Peter, turn to Christ for
wisdom. He cuts through the words of confusion with words of life. — Bill Crowder
There's so much wisdom to be learned, So many ways for me to grow, Lord, I would listen like a child, And learn what You would have me know. —K. De Haan
My friend Krista is struggling with a
decision: Should she keep her old car with its continual maintenance
problems or buy a newer model? She wants to be a good steward of her
finances, and she desires to make a wise decision. And most of all, she
wants to honor God.
Financial decisions can be tough to make.
Billy Graham even says, "If a person gets his attitude toward money
straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his
life."
Here are a few ideas to consider about wisdom in money matters:
Do a checkup to be sure you're following God's priorities. Are you giving to Him and to others? (1 Cor. 16:2). Taking care of
family needs? (1 Tim. 5:8). Not letting money control you? (Luke 16:13).
Research the topic. Consider all the options and the pros and cons of each one.
Ask God for wisdom. Pray, pray, and pray some more. He will direct you (Prov. 2:6).
Trust God and make the decision. Use the knowledge and wisdom you've gained, and commit your decision to Him.
Obedience
to God nurtures a growing love-and-trust relationship with Him. What's
most important is that we see each decision as an opportunity to draw
closer to Him. — Anne Cetas
When you're facing a decision And it seems a daunting task, Trust the Lord for true discernment— He'll give wisdom if you ask. —Hess
The closer we walk with God, the clearer we see His guidance.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
Devotion: A couple of weeks ago, my daughter Ashley had a gymnastics meet that didn’t go so well. She fell on almost every event. She scored well below her expectations and I thought there would be lots of tears at the awards ceremony. But, much to my surprise, she bounced up to me and exclaimed, “Mom, did you see I landed my vault on my feet. That’s a good thing about today.”
She then flitted off with her teammates to get ice cream. One of the other moms grabbed my arm and complimented Ashley’s good attitude. Though I did feel sad for Ashley - after all she had worked so hard to prepare for this meet, my heart still swelled with joy. That compliment meant more than seeing my daughter with a neck full of gold medals. Do I want Ashley to win? Yes, of course. But seeing a good attitude displayed in the face of adversity - well that’s simply priceless.
Ashley’s outlook challenged me. How many times do I have something bad happen in my day and it just seems to turn my whole attitude south? Instead of just resigning myself to being emotional or sensitive, I’ve decided to see this as a call to action. I’ve started making the choice to say a simple statement that often diverts a bad attitude. And the statement is this, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, it’s still a pretty good day.”
Boy does this statement put things into perspective. I guess it’s an everyday way to do a little heart check up. The Bible tells us that we should intentionally make our minds think of things that are good, true, excellent, and praiseworthy. The more I think about things like these, the more my perspective seems to stay in check. In Colossians 3:15 we are instructed to, “Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts… and be thankful.” Verse 16 goes on to say that we should also, “Let the word of God dwell in us richly…” Finally, verse 17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”
Letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and letting the word of God dwell in us richly doesn’t just happen naturally. We have to intentionally make those choices. And we have to challenge ourselves to deal with the bad while focusing on all the good that is there as well.
So, what aggravation or disappointment are you facing today? If that’s the worst thing that happens - I bet you could say it’s still a pretty good day too.
Dear Lord, help me to put daily aggravations into proper perspective. Give me the wisdom to choose to let the peace of Christ rule in my heart. And give me a hunger to get into Your word and let Your word get into me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
i went and got my nails done last night for the first time since i got married. they look great but i'm having a hard time typing wwith them...so i'm not going to correct any of my typos just to see how many i make.
i hoep they really DO sanitize their equipmnt (like they say on the biz card). question....why don't they talk? it was more quiet in that nail salon than it is in the library....and they had "ddelila after dak" playing which is way too mellow for me. i almost went to sleep while she was oding my nals. very awkard how it is so quiet in there since i'mm a naturally talkative person adn i can't stand silence. ast my uncle (may he rest in peace)...when i spent time with him last yarear while he was going thru chemo all he wanted to do was rest and i couldn't stand the silence oso i kept talking, i'm sure he just wanted me to shut up. you know how when you are sick and you don't feel like talking...i'm sure he was feeling that way.
anyway, it was awkward.
then i went to kroerger (i was in that store for 2 hours!) and by the time i checked out it was after 11 pm and all of the lanes were closed except uscan so i had to scan, bag, move to lofloor, scan, bag, move to floor, scan, bag, etc.... because noone was there to help. there were about 20 people in the store stocking shelves and pricing stuff....why couldn't one of them open a lane? plus, it was senior citizen discount day and there were two old ladies i nthe other uscans having the same problem....a ton of groceries and not enough roomm on the uscan so they had to do what i did...and the attendant had to keep helping us with coupns. it was almost comical. net timme i'll remember not to go so late. i also plan to fill out a comment card at kroger. that's crazy.
i can't type anymomroe with these nails . i know it will geteasier but i have to go gt ready for work. the typos erehere are quite comical.
